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Vineyard Committee on Hunger

On April 30 the Vineyard Committee on Hunger brings the issue to the center of the plate, so to speak, at its annual Hunger Banquet. The dinner reveals the disparity in food security around the world in a simple yet direct manner.

One in every four children in America doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from.

It’s an issue that has often passed quietly under the radar and gets little attention on TV or in books. But a new film screened Wednesday night at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, A Place at the Table, aims to change that by bringing the issue to the forefront of people’s minds.

A Place at the Table, narrated by Jeff Bridges and scored by T-Bone Burnett, is a documentary that places the spotlight on hunger here at home. It tells the stories of people struggling with food insecurity in the U.S., where 50 million people are unsure of where their next meal will come from. The Vineyard Committee on Hunger and Martha’s Vineyard Film Society will sponsor a showing of the film on Wednesday, August 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the film center at the Tisbury Marketplace in Vineyard Haven.

The warm sunshine last Saturday didn’t deter bread buyers at the annual bake sale organized by the Vineyard Committee on Hunger — better to buy a loaf of homemade bread than heat up the house with a hot oven. There was oatmeal bread, all-grain bread, cranberry bread and even gluten-free cornbread for sale as the group put up tables outside the Bunch of Grapes bookstore in Vineyard Haven, hoping their collection jars and handouts on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) budget cuts might raise awareness of those who go to bed hungry at night, even on Martha’s Vineyard.

The Vineyard Committee on Hunger, along with Reliable Market and several Vineyard houses of worship, are working together again this year to ensure that Island families who are in need will have a great Thanksgiving meal (and Christmas). The volunteer organizers are asking Islanders who can to sponsor one of these families by contributing the cost of one family’s meal, $25.

This is the time of year for giving and remembering those in need. The Vineyard Committee on Hunger works hard to give families enough to eat all year long through their Serving Hands Food Distribution. They also help provide holiday meals through their Family-to-Family program. During Thanksgiving they gave out 186 dinners. They want to do the same for Christmas.

The Vineyard Committee on Hunger is asking for donations for Island families in need this spring, in particular for Passover and Easter meals.

The cost to sponsor a family meal is $25 and includes 1 ham or turkey, 5 pounds of potatoes, 2 pounds of onions, 1 pound of carrots, 3 pounds of apples, 3 pounds of oranges, 1 bunch of celery, 1 dozen eggs and canned pineapple.